A teenager on Rikers Island hanged himself in a holding cell in full view of guards, who ignored him for 7 minutes. One officer walked into the cell, saw him hanging, closed the door & walked away. The teenager is now on a respirator with no brain activity.nyti.ms/385HbUa
This cruelty is not exceptional. In Michigan, prison guards took bets on whether Janika Edmond would die by suicide. When she cried out for help from a shower area, one pumped her fist in the air, saying to a group of guards, "Somebody owes me lunch." washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/05…
The guards ignored Ms. Edmond's cries and then, also, choking sounds that emanated from the shower area. Finally 20 minutes later when they checked on her, Ms. Edmond was lying on the shower floor, a bra around her neck, unresponsive. She later died.
